WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #47 by Nick Spencer, Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi, David Curiel, & VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now
There are some pretty powerful Spider-Man enemies out there, with many of them finding the ability to rally entire armies of supporters. Norman Osborn's Goblin Army, Doctor Octopus' legion of henchmen, and others have risen up over the years. Now, another major Spider-Man enemy is rallying their own force of potentially deadly New Yorkers.
The Sin-Eater is rallying an army of like-minded citizens - and could end up with a pretty powerful force if his hint about giving them his power turns out to be true.
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After sneaking into Norah Winter's car, Sin-Eater seemed to turn his gun on the reporter. But it's revealed that instead of opening fire on Norah and adding her to his list of confirmed kills, in reality, it was Norah trying to shoot him with her gun. Unaffected by the bullet to the chest, Sin-Eater revealed that despite her numerous sins, he didn't want to kill her. In fact, he wanted her to actually do her job and report on his crusade. This allows Sin-Eater to make his case directly to the people of New York City, arguing that his tactics are brutal but necessary if they want to save the world form what he calls an unrelenting wave of crime and death and sin. He even calls on the various peoples of the city to unite behind him and his crusade.
Despite Jonah Jameson's reluctance to spread this manifesto, Norah argues it's important for New Yorkers to see the video and decide for themselves what they want to do. But Jonah's fears of this motivating the angriest people in the city to action is well-founded. Following a believer in Sin-Eater's principals, Spider-Man sneaks into a building where multiple people have begun donning Sin-Eater inspired costumes and masks. There are dozens of them already, all clamoring for Sin-Eater's brand of justice. Seeing an army grow around him, Sin-Eater hints that like him, they'll soon carry out a holy crusade against crime, killing everyone they deem a genuine threat.
What makes this army so particularly concerning is the suggestion that Sin-Eater hints at: that his current ability to take the superhuman abilities of the people he guns down could be spread through his disciples. While using his powers to trounce Spider-Man in a 1-on-1 fight, he calls out to his cheering crowd and tells them that soon, they'll all be capable of this and more. Although he'd earlier been talking about the symbolic power the Sin-Eaters can develop by working as a unified force to take control of the city-streets, Sin-Eater's attack on Spider-Man - and his mastery of multiple powers - hints that this could be a gift that could be spread. If the Kindred was able to empower Sin-Eater, then why couldn't they do the same to a host of his followers?
This could create an entire army of killers who are capable of stealing the powers of the people they kill - which could lead to a very potential fearsome force. While they may be directed towards bringing down criminals, they're still be commanded by a repeat killer and someone who'd been, until recently, doomed to suffer for the sins of the world he'd taken on. It's his dark morality that defines this army, meaning he (or the Kindred through him) could use this burgeoning strikeforce to attack anyone in the city. These reinforcements might even give Sin-Eater more than enough bodies and fire-power to attack - and try to kill - Norman Osborn, his newest target.